Elysian Shadows - A New Indie 2D RPG

he developers of Elysian Shadows have sent out a new press release with information the games kickstarter is now live. Here are the details from the press release.

Discover A World Separated By Magic and Technology

Elysian Shadows is an indie 2D RPG being developed for Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, iOS, Ouya and Sega Dreamcast. We fuse aspects of 16-bit classical RPGs such as Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, and Final Fantasy, with a highly stylized, modern vision by using dynamic lighting, physics, and audio engines along with swapping between 2D and 3D perspectives. Our goal is to create a "next-gen" 2D RPG in terms of gameplay, graphics, and audio while still remaining true to the games that inspired us to become developers.

We have been documenting the development of Elysian Shadows for nearly 7 years since 2007 and the videos have been uploaded to our YouTube channel in Chapters http://youtube.com/gyrovorbis

Elysian Shadows takes place in a world caught in constant conflict between magic and technology. The gift of magic is bestowed upon loyal followers of The Creator, while the nonreligious sects of society are forced to rely upon technological advances in their daily lives. Upon uncovering a mysterious artifact deep within one of the ancient ruins scattered throughout the land, Julien and friends find themselves thrust into the middle of this mounting conflict, and they must now solve the mystery of the ancient civilizations to prevent the destruction of their own.

With Elysian Shadows, we want to push the boundaries of pixel art by creating diverse, lush environments for players to explore with beautifully lit scenes and advanced rendering effects that could not have been possible on older hardware. Our goal is to create a gigantic, open world with a Zelda-style emphasis on exploration and environmental interaction while still retaining the rich storyline and combat mechanics of a full-fledged RPG. Combat is fast, fluid, and action-oriented, sporting particle effects, rigid-body physics, and advanced AI, while simultaneously offering tactical and strategic depth through character customization, unlockable abilities and techniques, and an advanced class system.

Before you start wondering, Elysian Shadows is planned for release on PC, Mac, Linux, iOS & Android (smartphones and tablets), Ouya and Dreamcast. This project originally started as a Dreamcast exclusive but with the advancements of our proprietary game engine and toolkit it allowed us to build Elysian Shadows for other platforms.

Err, it actually says the Kickstarter will launch this summer… it isn't live yet.

Game concept sounds kinda interesting to me, but is definitely something I'd want to have a playable demo of before deciding to back. It's easy to say "this will be just the classic 16-bit RPGs like Chrono Trigger- only better!" but actually delivering on that won't be easy.

Thanks for the coverage, rpgwatch! I'm the lead engine/toolkit developer for ES, Falco Girgis.

Originally Posted by screeg
Another great win for Generic Fantasy Name Generator!

Actually the name is an oxymoron in reference to the "shadows of paradise," which is not only extremely relevant to our storyline, but it also emphasizes the over-arching themes of the game…

Originally Posted by daveyd
It's easy to say "this will be just the classic 16-bit RPGs like Chrono Trigger- only better!" but actually delivering on that won't be easy.

You're absolutely right. We're a team of extremely passionate engineers, artists, and musicians, who all grew up playing these classic games… We're all committed to doing them justice with our own project. We spent several years developing an engine and development suite from the ground-up, capable of pushing the pixel-art medium to its limits. We want to evolve the genre. We are marrying traditional 2D pixeled sprites and advanced rendering techniques like dynamic lighting, omnidirectional dynamic shadows, bump mapping, and specular highlights.

If you have any questions (or doubts) about the project, feel free to let me know… Please check out our site and video series before passing judgement… This is a very serious and ambitious project, fueled by blood, sweat, and tears.

We have a major update on the games development with details and examples of gameplay mechanics. We have released the latest chapter in our YouTube series "Adventures in Game Development" so if you have a spare hour then please watch it and let us know what you think.